Abstract
Purpose
The aims of the present study were to determine during childhood and adolescence (i) the effect of sex on non-oxidative energy production, quantified by the accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD), and (ii) the influence of AOD on high-intensity performance.
Methods
Thirty-nine boys and 35 girls aged 10–17 years performed a 60 s all-out test on a rowing ergometer to determine AOD and mean power output (MPO). Multiplicative allometric modelling was used to assess the concurrent effects of lean body mass (LBM) and age on AOD.
Results
AOD significantly increased with age in both sexes (p < 0.001) with boys exhibiting significantly higher AOD than girls from the age of 14 years (10–11.9 yr: 1.9 vs 1.9 L, 12–13.9 yr: 2.4 vs 2.7 L, 14–15.9 yr: 2.8 vs 4.6 L and 16–17.9 yr: 2.9 vs 5.2 L, in girls and boys respectively, p < 0.001). However, a sex difference was no longer significant when AOD was analysed using an allometric model including age and LBM (p = 0.885). Finally, significant correlations were found between AOD and MPO in boys and girls but with lower evidence in girls (r2 = 0.41 vs. 0.89).
Conclusion
Non-oxidative energy production increased more extensively in boys than girls from the age of 14 years. Age and LBM accounted for the sexual differentiation of AOD during childhood and adolescence. In addition, AOD was found to be a determinant factor of high-intensity performance, more particularly in boys.
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Abbreviations
- ANCOVA:
-
Analysis of covariance
- ANOVA:
-
Analysis of variance
- AOD:
-
Accumulated oxygen deficit
- BM:
-
Body mass
- [HCO3 −]min :
-
Minimal blood bicarbonate concentration
- [La]max :
-
Maximal blood lactate concentration
- LBM:
-
Lean body mass
- MPO:
-
Mean power output
- pHmin :
-
Minimal blood pH
- \({\dot{\rm V}}{\rm O_{2max}}\) :
-
Maximal oxygen uptake
- \({\dot{\rm V}}{\rm O_{2rest}}\) :
-
Oxygen uptake at rest
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Matthieu Chapron, Adrien Druenne, Camille Leclerc, Benjamin Leroux, Nathalie Capelle, all rowers for their participation, the Club of Aviron Marne Joinville and Quentin De Larochelambert for their welcome, technical assistance and availability during this study.
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HM, CTJ and SR designed the research. JB, AD, HM, CTJ and SR collected the data and performed the research. JB, AD, NA and SR analysed the data and supervised the research. JB and SR wrote the manuscript. JB, AD, HM, NA, CTJ and SR provided critical revisions important for intellectual content of the finished manuscript, approved the final version of the manuscript, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. All persons designated as authors qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify for authorship are listed.
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The present study was approved by an institutional ethics review board (Comité d’Éthique pour la Recherche en Sciences et Techniques des Activités Physiques et Sportives—CERSTAPS, n°2019-18-09-36) and conformed to the standards of use of human participants in research as outlined in the Sixth Declaration of Helsinki.
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Bardin, J., Maciejewski, H., Diry, A. et al. Sex-related differences in accumulated O2 deficit incurred by high-intensity rowing exercise during childhood and adolescence. Eur J Appl Physiol 121, 1641–1651 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04636-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04636-1